A review by miffybooks
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

3.0

its good! i think the relationship between obinze and ifemelu is by far the most interesting part, and so much of the book shows them completely seperated from each other. i think its a good technique, but at the same time the two story format can REALLY drag especially at the points when theres very little that connects the two stories. i dont really have a problem with the book being so bluntly ideological, because i think thats what its meant to be at its core. i really liked hearing about adiche’s observations on race, specifically in african and african-american interactions which i hadnt known much about in the past. she has a really thoughtful and humorous voice that is super enjoyable to read. however, i will say that the bluntness of the ideology comes at the expense of a well paced narrative, and things like the interspersed blog posts and ifemelu’s relationship with curt really roughen the pace even if theyre insightful to read on their own. the placement of the blog posts especially are a bit jarring as they sometimes dont even relate to happening in the story.

but good book overall, even if it drags at some points! i was definitely invested in the core story and i do think its really well written. glad i read